Nobody's Ever Turned Away from the Ponderosa
by Kitty O
Summary: A strange, STUBBORN, and injured girl shows up on the Ponderosa, followed by a scared new ranchhand, and then cattle rustlers. Inspired by the title, S6 quote. Hoss/OC. Complete
1. Day One on the Ponderosa

_A/N: No, I do not own the Cartwrights or the Ponderosa or Bonanza. No, I don't know exactly where this is going, I just have an idea. Yes, I'd appreciate any feedback. If it stinks too badly, let me know and I'll take it off . And if the writing sounds a little funny, remember I'm trying to talk as the character would. (Example: smack-dab.) _

"**Nobody's Ever Turned Away from the Ponderosa" **

~Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts) in the _Flannel-Mouth Gun_, episode of season 6.

* * *

Chapter One: Day One on the Ponderosa

She limped along, each step more painful than the last. As if in a dream, she felt her shoulders shaking from repressed sobs, but she refused to cry outright. Up ahead she could see a barn, but in her half-conscious state she did not recognize it for what it was. The pain kept distracting her…burning her…

"Oh," she moaned, breaking her promise to herself. "_Oh…_"

Then she ran smack-dab into the barn and staggered backward, angry at herself. Running into things. How stupid.

Painfully, she turned away from the barn and blindly kept walking into a yard full of dust. Collapsing sounded like the most enticing idea in the world now, but she couldn't. No, she had to - needed to - keep going.

She screamed in surprise and pain. Though it was right in front of her, she hadn't seen the hitching post until she ran into it and fell backwards, unable to catch herself. The ground no longer felt so inviting. As a matter of fact, it was every bit as agonizing as walking. _Gosh-dog it, dash-blame it!_ she thought angrily.

She moaned again.

Dimly she heard footsteps and words, approaching fast. Her heart beat wildly, and she was suddenly very afraid. What would happen now?

Hands reached down and grabbed her. They were male hands; she could tell. The woman broke her promise to herself all over again. "No! Don't touch me! Don't you _touch _me!" She yelled more, reaching for the knife hidden in her skirts. But the movement pulled at her worst wound and a fresh wave of pain left her breathless and paralyzed.

_Oh, fine,_ she thought, and reluctantly let herself relax as she passed out.

* * *

The doctor would be there any minute; Pa had gone for one a long time ago. Hoss sat uncomfortably in his chair and waited, wanting to speed up time. If the Doc took too long… Well, Hoss had seen the girl's injuries himself. He didn't know if she would make it.

He fidgeted as he remembered how his perfectly ordinary day had turned tragic in mere seconds.

Joe heard someone scream outside just as he was finishing breakfast, and he and Hoss rushed out to help. They found a young, injured girl, her face covered with nasty bruises, blood seeping ominously through the cloth of her lavender blouse.

When Little Joe had gone to pick her up, she'd panicked, screaming about how they couldn't touch her. She stopped after a moment, and Joe carried her to the spare bedroom without another sound. Ben went into town for a doctor then, after agreeing that the boys could stay around the house until he returned. Then they had to go back to work.

Hoss hoped the girl would be alright. He'd never seen her before in his life, but her pain had already won the sympathy of his soft heart.

He lost another game of checkers.

Joe whined, "Hoss, beating you isn't even any fun today. What's eating you?"

"Nothin', Joe, nothin'. I'm just dyin' of curiosity, is all."

"About the girl up there? Me too, but sitting there looking worried isn't going to help her any. Come on, let's play another game." He began to reset the board.

The door opened and Ben stepped in, taking off his hat. Behind him walked Paul Martin.

"Good morning, Doc," said Hoss kindly, and he and Joe came forward to shake the doctor's hand.

After the greetings, Paul said, "Well, Ben, you told me you had an injured girl in here."

"Yes, sir, I do. She's in the upstairs guest room… Here, I'll show you."

The doctor chuckled. "No need. By now I should know my way." He walked up the stairs, dragging along his black briefcase. Hoss followed.

Joe sighed, seeing that Hoss would not be playing another game. "How do you like that? You want to play with me, Pa?"

"No, son," said Ben. "Shouldn't you be heading out to help Adam?"

"Aw, but Hoss…" Ben's look checked his youngest mid-whine, and Joe went to pick up his hat and gun belt.

"I'm gone," he said, and then he was.

Upstairs, Doc looked in at the girl and saw her looking back at him blankly. "Well, little lady," he sang. "You're awake!"

She stared coolly, trying to understand if he was stupid or trying to be funny. At last she decided that he was going for 'soothing'.

The doctor whistled. "You look like you lost a fight with a mountain lion."

That wasn't funny. Had she been well, she could've happily slapped him. He'd never talk to her in that voice again then, would he?

"You seem to be bleeding a lot around your middle," he told her mock-calmly. "I'm going to check on that…"

_Good idea,_ she thought sarcastically. _Nincompoop!_ She had no patience left for this. "It's a bullet wound," she growled.

"What?"

"Bullet. In my side." Her eyes were bright with pain, but her tone was level and casual. Hoss and Paul were surprised at her calmness. Was it really a bullet wound, as she said?

The injured girl yawned. She could stay awake, but it was so much easier to go back to sleep until this obviously inept doctor was gone. So she did.

When she awoke, the doctor had left, and there was a bandage around her waist, restricting her movements. The doctor must have removed the bullet and left, she thought, relieved.

It was evening already, she thought. _How long did I sleep?_

She looked up and around. The room was a nice one. The bed didn't make her back ache as her own cot did. In the corner stood a stand with a porcelain washbowl, and in the doorway was a big, rough-looking man.

Slowly, her hand inched under the blanket and to her skirt. She made a fist around the hilt of her knife. The beaten girl would not hesitate to stick it in him, should he become a threat.

He looked down at her and walked in. "You're awake."

They kept telling her that, as if she didn't know. "Yes."

He smiled at her, but she didn't release her weapon. What did a friendly smile prove?

"Doctor says you're going to be fine."

She didn't feel fine.

"You don't talk much, do ya, ma'am?" asked the big man, standing over her and unintentionally sending her heart hammering into her throat.

Her face stayed blank.

"What's your name?"

"Paige."

The man smiled, pleased to have gotten a response. "I'm Hoss."

She rolled the name about in her head. Hoss. It fit him! She liked it. All she said was, "Okay."

Hoss blinked. The silent woman made him nervous. He bravely plunged onward. "Ma'am, do you mind telling me what happened to you?"

Suddenly she smiled – a cold, empty smile that didn't reach her gray eyes. Chills crept up Hoss's spine. "I was shot," she said. "And hit. Multiple times." There was no amusement in her voice, but nonetheless Hoss got the feeling that she was laughing at him.

Rather than losing his temper, he smiled. "There's no need to be afeared, ma'am. No one here will hurt you."

She blinked, at a loss for words, astonished at his manners in the face of her rudeness. Her respect for him went up and notch. He was going to 'kill her with kindness', eh?

Kindness. Dad-burn it. She gave a little shiver.

"You look cold," he said, and reached across her blankets. In an instant, her arm was up, clutching her knife and pressing it against his chest.

He froze.

"You step back," she said emotionlessly.

He stepped back, eyes wide. "Ma'am, I was just going to pull up the blankets."

She smiled that empty smile again. "I can do that myself, Hoss."

"Yes ma'am, so you can. Perhaps you could put that knife up, too."

He looked earnest, kind, but was probably faking. Probably trying to fool her. It wouldn't work. She kept the knife up.

"Put it away, ma'am," said a male voice from the doorway.

She turned and looked at the young man by the door. He was shorter than Hoss but taller than her, and she correctly guessed that he was the youngest of the three. He was small, but wore a baggy green jacket to give himself bulk and disguise his little build. His 'I'm-a-grown-up' way of standing and adult stature didn't fool Paige. That dramatic entrance and those sparkly eyes made her think that this man was barely more than a boy.

Outnumbered, she put the knife away where she could quickly grab it again. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Little Joe. That's my brother Hoss that you wanted to slice up. Pretty little girls shouldn't play with knives."

_How about plain girls who are older than you? _she looked away from him. "How many men are there around here? Don't you have any mothers, or sisters, or wives?"

Hoss just laughed. "She must like you, Joe. That's the most she's said since she came."

She didn't know what to say again, and she didn't like it.

"No, ma'am," said Joe in that same too-cute tone. "We haven't any. Just me, my two brothers, and Pa."

She honestly thought she paled a bit. "All grown?"

"Yes."

"And none married?"

"No ma'am."

_Holy smokes,_ she thought. What kind of place _was _this that she'd stumbled into? "Where _am _I?"

"The Ponderosa," said Hoss, who had straightened up and taken a step or two back.

Her head snapped around to face him. "The Ponderosa? You're Cartwrights, then?"

"We are," said Joe, walking into the room and sitting down on an upholstered chair. "What's your last name?" he asked her.

"Anton," she responded automatically, still feeling a little dazed. The Ponderosa? Heavens above! She began to smile, just a little. Who said she couldn't appreciate irony?

_I'm being cared for by the Ponderosa Cartwrights! Jacob's going to laugh until his sides split! _

_

* * *

_

Joe's feet pounded down the stairs with Hoss right behind him. Ben looked up from his desk. "How is she?"

"Alive and kicking," Hoss assured Ben. "That filly's a wild one."

Ben sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. Hoss wondered to himself if Pa was getting old. Sometimes he just looked so… tired! But when Ben moved his hands, his eyes were bright with intelligence and curiosity. He wasn't over the hill yet, thank heavens.

He asked, "Who is she? What happened to her?"

Joe shrugged, leaning on the railing. "Paige Anton's her name."

Hoss nodded and stuck his thumbs into his pants. "I asked what happened, and all she said was, 'I was shot'."

Joe added, "She's not very talkative."

With everything on Ben's mind right now, he really didn't need an injured girl in the house. This was a busy time of year… and what with those rustlers and all…

While plopping himself down on the couch, Joe said, "You know, she wasn't real friendly. But she was pretty. Maybe she's just shy." He smiled his most winning smile.

Ben heard hoof beats in the yard. Adam was home from a long day's work, he thought, and turned his mind back to Hoss and Joe's conversation.

Hoss was snorting, "I don't think shyness is her problem. Hey Pa, whatever you do, don't make her mad. And don't try to pull up her covers. She can do that herself."

The door opened, and Adam stepped inside. Ben's oldest son was a big man, brave and smart, with a good sense of humor and a college education. Best of all, he didn't call his day short just because they were housing a strange girl for awhile, which was a trait that was Ben was beginning to appreciate more and more.

"Hello, Adam," said Ben to his dark-haired son, but Adam, looking grim, didn't return his greeting. Ben knew what that was about. He sighed and asked, "How many did they get away with last night?"

"Five," said Adam darkly. "Five head of steer missing. Again."

It was nighttime, and Paige should've been sleeping, especially after a day like today.

She _had_ been, but the inevitable nightmare had driven her to awareness, making her bite her tongue to keep from crying out loud. Sweat ran down her body despite the chill in the air.

The pale moonlight leaked in through the window and covered the bed like a second blanket, calming her. After a minute or two she relaxed back into her bed, allowing her mind to wander until she slumbered again. She'd always liked the moon and its light, she found herself thinking. They were….unassuming. Yes, that was it. The moonlight wasn't demanding, like the sun, or threatening like the rainclouds. It was just there, subtle and silver, letting her know that she was the most important person around. No one was better than anyone else by moonlight, not even the President. Paige wasn't sure where she'd gotten this idea, but the thought comforted her when she was upset. She began to feel better, and the nightmare was less scary. Already she began to forget it.

After a moment, her attention turned from the light to the opened door. Now how could she sleep with it open? Paige simply couldn't; someone would have to close it before she could doze again. She couldn't call to the men of the Ponderosa, of course, so she would have to do it herself. Her middle felt almost better, anyway.

Paige tossed her covers aside with a sigh. She groaned, knowing this was going to hurt, and stood up. Her feet landed in the shadow, away from the moonlight.

It hurt to stand! Walking was going to be worse, and she knew it. _But the door isn't so far away, not really. And I've already gotten this far._

She took a step, faltered, and shook her head at her own weakness. She took a second step and trembled. On the third, she collapsed with a _thud_.

Hoss looked up when he heard the noise. He was downstairs, losing to Joe at checkers – a pastime that he was tiring of.

Joe glanced toward the ceiling. "Guess she's up," he said, standing.

Adam put down a work of Shakespeare and gazed at the ceiling.

Hoss jumped to his feet, saying, "I've got it," and bounded up the stairs. He reached her doorway and saw her lying on the floor, looking up at him. Her face was pale.

"You shouldn't get out of bed," he admonished her. "Has your wound opened again?" he asked, coming forward cautiously, in case she pulled out her knife again.

Hoss made a mental note to see if he could part her from it soon, so he could sleep easier.

"No, it hasn't," she growled.

"What were you doing?"

"Trying to close the double-danged door," she said, using one of her funny expressions. "I can't sleep with it open."

Well, she'd slept with it open all afternoon, hadn't she? Hoss didn't mention it, just went and picked her up. She didn't struggle, but her body stiffened. He found himself wondering how someone who looked so solidly built could weigh so little.

"Now, ma'am," he said, carrying her over to the bed and putting her down on it. "The doctor said to stay in bed, okay?"

"Yes, well," she sneered. "He's an imbecile, isn't he? Why should I care what he says?" Her temporary calmness was now completely gone and quickly being replaced by an urge to cry. But she wouldn't, not in front of Hoss.

Hoss felt a flash of anger towards Paige, but then he remembered. She was scared; she was in pain. He had to keep his temper. "You don't mean that. You'll feel better in the morning. I always do." He looked down at her, and suddenly his kindly expression froze on his face. They stood there a moment, gazes locked, and the world stood still. Then, silently, Hoss turned and left the room.

Once he was back downstairs, Adam and Joe looked at him, their expressions curious. Hoss shook his head. "Paige just fell outta bed. She's fine. No, Little Joe, I don't think I'll play again. I'm plumb tired."

Upstairs, a very exhausted and very injured girl burst into helpless tears. The big oaf! Who was he to be so nice to her? It was like rubbing salt in a wound! She sobbed miserably into her pillow until she finally fell asleep. When she awoke, she would discover that Hoss was right; things always did look better in the morning.

In another room, Hoss was trying to force himself to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes and prepared to slumber, it came back to him: the look on her face before he left the room. It was an expression of pure hatred, of loathing. He couldn't get it out of his head.

What had he done to deserve that look from such a pretty girl? Why did she hate him?

_A/N: Guilty conscience, that's what I'm thinking! But we'll see. Thanks for reading. _


	2. Day Two on the Ponderosa

_A/N: No, I don't own Bonanza. If I did, don't you think I'd have put these things in the show or in a book, and not on here?_

Chapter Two: Day Two on the Ponderosa

Of course, Paige didn't stay in bed. That might have been 'doctor's orders', but it was also a sign of weakness. And heaven forbid that Paige should be weak.

When she woke, she gave herself ten minutes to enjoy the warm bed before she forced herself to try to stand. It hurt, but was bearable. When she took a step, she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. After another step, she heard footsteps and got back in bed, pulled the soft covers up over her battered body, and checked to make sure she hadn't damaged herself. Her bruises looked the same, but she noticed that the swelling had gone down; they were healing.

She laid there for a few seconds before the wooden door opened and a dark-haired man strolled in. "Good morning," he said. "How are you?"

"Bruised."

Adam wasn't surprised. Hoss had warned him that she was not the type to respond with a "Just fine, thanks."

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes. Who are you? No, wait, don't tell me, you're another Ponderosa bachelor."

"Adam. Nice to meet you," he said, smiling in a solemn way and coming forward with a tray full of delicious smelling food.

She sat up.

"Lay down," he ordered.

She still sat.

"The doctor said you'll heal faster if you stay still," he told her, but she ignored him. In a position where Hoss would've kindly kept asking and the younger boy – Joe – might have ordered, Adam reacted differently.

"Okay," he bargained, "I'll give you the food when you lay down."

Paige's stomach rumbled, but she didn't move. She was being bribed, as though she was ten years old. Hungry though she was, she didn't plan on lying back down until she had that food. Adam's mistake was not realizing that she was more stubborn than she was hungry, and lying down was losing this battle of the wills. She glared at him.

He stared back at her. After a moment, Adam shrugged. "You know," he told her, "life's difficult if you see everything as a contest."

She didn't move an inch, even though her side was beginning to ache. If she wanted to make her own gall-danged life difficult, she would, thank you very much, Mr. Adam Cartwright.

"That's why I don't do it," he said, and gave her the tray. She smiled at him graciously and leaned back against the bed.

_I win._

"Thank you, Adam," said Paige.

"Do you need anything?" he asked, obviously caring very little if he had been defeated.

"No, I don't." She picked up a piece of bacon and bit into it.

"Hop Sing, our Chinese cook, will bring you lunch. The rest of the family will be out all day," he informed her, leaning comfortably against the wall and watching as she gobbled the food. "You should probably get some sleep."

"Probably," she agreed, and kept eating.

Adam stayed until she was finished, and then he gave her one last solemn smile, took the tray, and left.

She waited a full minute before trying to walk again. What did the doctor know? She had no patience with sickness or injury. Paige wouldn't let anything beat her. Ever.

This time she made it four steps before she thought the wound in her side would split open, and she fell down on the carpet. But she caught herself a moment before she hit the ground, slowing her fall and making it softer, so no one would hear and come to help her back to bed.

* * *

Adam finished his own breakfast with his family. Ben, the only member of the family who had yet to talk to Paige, didn't believe Adam when he described how stubborn she was.

"You're exaggerating," he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

But Hoss was smiling. "I told you. She really wouldn't lie down until you gave her breakfast?"

Adam nodded. "Mule-headed. She seems very cavalier about her injuries. She's going to hurt herself."

"We'd better get to work," said Little Joe pointedly, not caring to talk about Paige any longer. She'd been ungrateful and rude to Adam as well as Hoss and Joe, after all, and he saw no real reason to concern himself if she wanted to be stubborn.

The rest of the Cartwrights nodded and they stood up as one, throwing down napkins and pulling up their pants into a more comfortable position. Hoss led the way to the door, putting on his gun-belt and tall hat before going outside to saddle his horse with the rest of his family following.

Ben, being the last one out the door, was the first one to hear the hoof beats and stop in his tracks. "Boys," he called to his sons, making them pause at the door of the big painted barn.

A lone rider trotted into the yard, looking weary while his frisky brown horse looked anything but tired. He was a skinny man with a plaid shirt and ratty jeans, a dirty face and a cowboy hat pulled down low. Ben, ever gracious, came forward to greet him.

"How do you do?" he asked the stranger.

The man nodded nervously, his eyes flickering around as though searching for an ambush. "Mr. Cartwright?" His voice was low and unsure.

"Yes, I'm Ben Cartwright. Can I help you?"

"Uhh... maybe. I'm, uh, looking for a job – I'm good with horses and can handle cows – and I heard you were the one to ask." He flushed, as though asking for a job was an embarrassing thing.

"Well, I might be. What's your name?"

He made an 'uh' sound again. Hoss, standing back a-ways, wondered if he did so every time he spoke. "Riley. My name's Riley Tedrick."

"Well, Riley," said Ben cheerfully, "my son Adam is riding into town. If you go with him and help him load some supplies, I'll be happy to look for a job for you around here."

Riley nodded thankfully, turning to the boys to see which one was Adam.

"I'm Adam," said the oldest of the three men (Ben's sons, he guessed). "C'mon, you caught us just in time. We were just heading out."

Riley nodded again. He followed Adam as the dark-haired started to go out of the yard.

"Oh, Adam," called Ben.

Adam turned and looked at him.

"You will ask…?"

"Of course, Pa."

Ben nodded, and Adam continued riding out.

* * *

In the house, Paige had finally gotten to her feet and was pressed against the wall, inching her way along the hall, gasping and sweating with the effort.

"That's about enough for now," she said out loud to herself. "Time to take a break." She needed a place to sit down for a spell before she could make her way back to her room. After a moment's thought, she decided on the nearest bedroom. Thankfully, the door was open and she didn't have to maneuver her hands to turn the knob while still leaning all her weight against the wall. She staggered inside and collapsed onto a wooden rocking chair, relieved. Her side was beginning to complain quite loudly at all this moving around, and she felt sick. _Perhaps I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard the first day, _thought Paige, who was not an entirely unreasonable creature, despite appearances. _I'll rest here for a while, and then I'll go back to bed._

"Boys!" she heard Ben call from outside the window, and then hoof beats. Straining her ears, she heard the next words: "How do you do?"

Curious, she got to her feet, ignoring the nausea that threatened to overcome her. Had someone stopped by? Her thoughts immediately flew to Jacob, but then she shook her head. He wouldn't think to look for her here.

She trudged over to the window, peering out through the glass to the front of the house. Who was that stranger Ben was talking to? She squinted.

"Uh, Riley. My name's Riley Tedrick."

Paige gasped and her knees gave out, causing her to sink to the floor. Riley! How in the world! By all things good and holy, how could he be here?

The conversation went on, but a distressed Paige heard only one part of it.

"…I'll be looking for a job for you around here…"

Paige put her head in her hands, fighting back a smile. Someone 'up there' must have hated her.

She just couldn't let Riley see her, she decided, if he did end up working here. Staying inside the house most of the time would probably do the trick, even if it was distasteful.

_I have to get out of here soon. Soon, as in, within a few days. Jacob needs to know about this…_

_

* * *

_

Adam looked back at the cowboy, slowing his horse slightly until they were even.

"It's nice land, isn't it?" asked Adam, smiling at the green plants and brown ground around him. "And you can fall in love with that lake."

Riley looked over at the lake. It sparkled up at him, joyful and clean in the morning sun. "I believe it," he said. "When I was little, I always wanted to…" He paused, as though realizing that he was talking, and began to trial off. "…live near a lake…" he finished, and his face grew red again.

"Where'd you grow up?" asked Adam, trying to keep him talking.

"Uh, back east. New England."

"That's where I was born. My mother died there."

"I… uh, I'm sorry."

Adam shrugged and fell silent for a moment, trying to think of something else to say. But Riley seemed to have grasped the fact that if Adam started the conversation, it would just be questions. And then Riley would have to answer them.

So Riley beat Adam to it. "What was her name? How much do you remember about her?"

"Elizabeth. I was very little, so I don't remember much about her at all," said Adam with a little sigh.

Bad choice of topic then, decided Riley. "Well, then what about your younger brothers?" he asked.

"They had different mothers. My Pa married a few years after my mother died, a beautiful Swedish woman, but she was killed a soon after she had Hoss. Then, a couple of years later, Pa met Marie down in New Orleans, and they got married."

"But…?" prompted Riley, who sensed that there must be a 'but' coming next.

"She died in an accident when Joe, my youngest brother, was five. Pa raised us almost by himself."

Riley felt sorry for the man in black – as though perpetually in mourning – beside him. And he felt respect, too, respect for him and his Pa. They seemed to be stronger for their trials. He wondered if he could do that, if he tried, rather than just breaking down and giving up at the first sign of danger, like he had before.

Maybe if he really tried.

"Your Pa sounds like a brave man," said Riley, and that was all he needed to start an almost one-sided conversation. Adam Cartwright was not a man who liked to talk overly much, but Riley Tedrick was not a man who liked to talk at all, and Adam had plenty to say about his father, many good things.

It was obvious he loved his Pa very much.

After a while, though, Adam ran out of things to say, so he tried to talk about Riley's life again. Riley spoke a little, trying to be friendly, but other than admitting that he came up here from Texas, he hadn't much to say. Riley's life was one of his least favorite topics.

After reaching town and suggesting Riley help the storekeeper load their supplies, Adam pulled his hat down over his face against the glaring sun and walked towards the Sherriff's office.

"Adam!" The older man with the badge greeted the Cartwright enthusiastically. "How're you?"

"Fine, Roy, fine. You?"

"I'm doing good. Not as young as I used to be, of course, but still…" he answered with a laugh.

Adam laughed along with him. "I was wondering if you could find a little background on someone for me."

"Who?"

"His name is Riley Tedrick," said Adam, and described him while Roy wrote down the information. "He said he was born in New England and worked in Texas last."

"I can most certainly do that, Adam, but why?"

Adam laughed again, a little uncomfortably. "Just a man who wants a job. Pa wants to give it to him, but you know, with those cattle rustlers around, we want to be careful."

Roy nodded in understanding. "Is that all you need?"

"Yes, it is."

"Well," said Roy, standing up and escorting Adam to the door, "then I will have some information by tomorrow, if I can find any. Tell your Pa I said hello."

"I will," said Adam, starting to leave, but pausing. "I almost forgot, Roy. We have an injured girl staying at our place, maybe Paul told you?"

"He mentioned it," said Roy, nodding.

"Good. If you could just be on the look out for any news concerning a missing girl with the name 'Paige' or 'Anton', we'd appreciate it."

"No problem, Adam."

"Thanks, Roy." Adam turned and went back to his wagon to help load the supplies.

* * *

Paige got back into her own room long before lunch and dozed until Hop Sing, a severe but cute little Chinaman, brought her up some of his delicious food.

A bit after he left, she got up and walked around a bit more. Every trip she could go farther, but she didn't dare try the stairs, partly because she knew she couldn't make it and partly because Hop Sing would catch her.

After her little excursion, she went back to her bed and, totally worn out, dropped off into a deep slumber. She didn't even wake for dinner.

_A/N: Well, that's all for now. By mid-chapter I finally came up with a plot, but better late than never, I always say. Well, no I don't, but you know…_

_I've noticed that this story doesn't seem to be all that well liked, so I'll try to hurry it up, but I won't yank it off for those of you who actually did like it. Thank you to my (TWO) reviewers, and to my (ONE) person who clicked 'alert'. The rest of you, be ashamed. Not really. _


	3. Riley's Story

_A/N: Oh wow! I get it; I'm reassured! Believe me, I didn't mean what I said at the end of last chapter in a negative way! It's just my natural cheerfully pessimistic nature showing. I've been told it's quite aggravating in writing. Well, can I help it? The world DOES have to end eventually… Kidding. It's been too long since I updated, sorry. This chapter is a bit shorter, but such is life._

Chapter Three: Riley's Story

"Um, I don't understand how we're riding into town without a wagon and out of town with one."

"A friend of my father's borrowed it a few days ago, we're just bringing it back," explained Adam.

Riley nodded and fell silent again, making Adam wish that he had drawn out his answer more. They had barely spoken a word since leaving town, and it was growing uncomfortable. Adam could understand being shy, but this was ridiculous.

Actually, Adam didn't understand. He couldn't understand a man like Riley, who was shy out of necessity. Neither could he ever understand the effort it took for Riley to lift his head and say, "I know you asked the Sherriff about me."

The look, the cold look, on Adam's face made him wish he'd held his tongue. It made him want to just die. He felt his face coloring.

"Okay," said Adam, not in the least embarrassed.

"I… I just thought I should say…" _Dang it, Riley,_ he thought. _Be a man._ Did Adam Cartwright make everyone feel so foolish with just a glance, or was that just him? "I mean, you could've asked my about my past." There, he'd said it. He'd been brave.

Adam smiled easily. "I was planning on it."

There was another silence. How did Riley reply to that?

At last he decided to jump in and start with, "I got out of prison a year ago."

Adam was unimpressed, dang him. "What were you in for?"

"Cattle rustling. I was real young, foolish I guess." He smiled. "Um, and in love. I guess I wasn't thinking all that straight when I agreed. It didn't last very long, this outlaw thing. I had some self-respect, and I didn't want to steal." He smiled, an odd expression considering the topic under discussion. "I had this great big fall-out with the leader of the gang, and he wouldn't let me go. I tried to walk out anyway, and got picked up by the Sherriff of the town. It was okay by me; I was going to see him anyway."

Adam was still just looking at him, his face totally undecipherable and scaring Riley. Riley's face was red as a rose, but he pushed on ahead. "I told him everything. Most of the gang got arrested. I know for a fact that Jacob, the leader, got away with his sister." He smiled at the word 'sister', and Adam guessed that that was the 'love' he had mentioned.

"You went to prison?"

"Not for as long as it could have been, thanks to my youth and the fact that I almost turned myself in, but yeah, I went to prison. And it was awful. Very, very awful." He looked a little spooked at the memories, and perhaps then Adam got an inkling of why he was so terribly shy. The ex-convict's eyes turned hard for just a moment, sparking a bit of sympathy in Adam.

"Then I, um, went down to Texas. It was a little hard to find a good job, but I didn't want to give up. I found one, but then I decided to move on."

"Why?"

"It's kind of… a personal reason." He couldn't believe his own audacity, but there was no way he was telling Adam this part. "It wasn't anything illegal or anything, just…awkward." That much was true. "So I came out here. I know you'll still want to verify my story, but I just thought I'd tell you as much, myself. I'll understand if you don't want to hire me."

For the first time in a while, Adam smiled. "One of the tenets my father lives by: When a man has paid for his mistake, that's it. He's paid for them. It's over."

Riley returned his crooked smile in the form of a happier, more open grin. "You mean that…?"

"Of course, it's Pa's decision. But I think that job is_ probably_ yours."

For a moment, it looked as though Atlas had kindly taken the world back from Riley's shoulders.

* * *

"Paige, get back to bed."

"What is this, some kind of dad-blamed prison? I'm fine, Mr. Cartwright!"

"Of course you are. But you still need to…"

"Good gracious!"

Ben had discovered Paige walking around the hall, ignoring the doctor's orders and, he was sure, doing herself no good. He tried to put her back to bed… and consequently met for the first time the Brick Wall That Was Paige Anton.

Realizing that he was bigger than she, and so had the advantage, she decided to use an offensive strategy.

While he tried to usher her to bed like her father once had, she slowly pushed her way forward, ignoring the pain in her side. She wanted to make it to the stairs. She wanted to show this Cartwright that she could do whatever she wanted to!

Somewhere deep inside, she wondered if she was going crazy.

"Really, Mr. Cartwright! Don't you think I'd know if I was hurting myself? What good does lying in a bed like an invalid do? Let me at those stairs, sir!"

Ben glared at her through his white eyebrows. He had long since lost the patience to deal with unruly children.

"Ms. Anton, you will go to bed."

"I will not."

She continued inching down the hall, looking smaller than usual in a button-down shirt that had once been Adam's. Ben backed up step-by-step, barely comprehending what he was doing.

A yawning Little Joe came to his door, buttoning up his own shirt and looking bewildered, then amused. Another door in the hall opened, and a sleepy, bemused Hoss watched the small battle in the hallway between his father and Paige.

Joe laughed. "I've known Pa for a long time, Paige; better to give up."

There was no better way to make her determined to get at those stairs.

Joe continued, "Hoss, she's about to meet the master at getting what you want."

Shrugging, Hoss made his way across the hall. The yelling adversaries-for-a-time began to ignore the younger Cartwrights and focus on trying to make the other bend to their respective wills.

"I don't know, Joe," Hoss muttered. "She's like a wildcat. The more she's hurt, the harder she's gonna fight."

Joe nodded, considering. He knew that there weren't many things more dangerous than an injured wild animal. An injured and desperate wild animal. "You want to make a bet?"

Actually, Hoss wanted to make sure that she didn't hurt herself or wear out that pretty voice of hers. But… a bet meant _money_. "How much?" he asked, eyes narrowed, now completely awake.

Ben had gone the stairs while she stood at the top, ready to catch her should she fall down. His heart was in his throat as she navigated the steps.

"Paige, stop this," he said at the first step.

"Be sensible," was at the second.

"Please, Paige, you're going to hurt yourself." The third.

She took the steps slowly, but eventually she reached the platform in the middle, gasping too much to speak back. This hurt. This was pushing herself too far, and she knew it. Paige rediscovered the negative side of being the Brick Wall That Was Paige Anton.

* * *

"Um, what's all that yelling about?" asked Riley as they rode up to the house. It was dark outside, but judging from the hollering issuing from the house, no one was sleeping.

"Must be our new houseguest. She's a horror," said Adam judgmentally but not unkindly, swinging over his horse and to the ground. "Let's go make sure she's not dismembering my family, okay?"

Riley grinned. "If she is, I'm right behind you."

"Lots of help that'll be."

They walked across the porch and opened the door, taking off their hats.

"Please!" Ben was begging at the foot of the stairs.

A young girl stood on the stairs, glaring through her icy gray eyes at him, her dark hair a mess and falling into her face. Her visage was marred with several nasty bruises that couldn't quite disguise her comely features. All in all, her own mother wouldn't have recognized her as what she once was. But Riley did. Of course he did.

"Paige." He mouthed her name, stunned, and she looked up as though she had heard him.

Instantly, her face went a pasty white. Her eyes went wide and looked scared. Then, without pausing to argue further with Ben, she turned and fled up the stairs. Her wounds slowed her down and put her off balance, so she ran into the railing as she passed by the small platform. She kept going, biting her lip, but suddenly she stopped, swaying.

Riley dropped his hat and started forward.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled backward. Paige hit the stairs and tumbled down, landing in a crumpled heap on the platform, senseless.

Riley was now running to her, but Hoss, whom no one had seen enter the scene, got there first and scooped her up, pulling her body into his big chest. He looked horrified. Her eyes were half open, but only the whites showed, and she groaned.

Adam hadn't made it more than a few steps when he caught sight of the crimson blossoming from the middle of his old shirt. He stopped on a dime, jammed his hat back onto his head, and declared, "I'll go for Doc Martin!"

He turned and rushed from the house, glad he hadn't put up his horse.

"Get her to her room!" he heard Ben yelling behind him.

Joe stared in the upstairs hallway, eyes wide as Hoss carried Paige up the stairs, Riley following like a shadow. She hadn't regained consciousness and didn't look like she would anytime soon.

That was one bet that Joe and Hoss just forgot all about, the situation having become too serious. Besides that, they couldn't even be sure who won. She went back to bed, all right, but not how Ben had wanted.

It didn't really matter who won anyway.

Paige would never believe that, as Adam could've told them.

_A/N: Well, it's getting good! I hate to cut it off there, but that's where it just seemed to end. I will update next week. _

_I'd forgotten how great it is to sit down and write a story for a nice, wholesome show like Bonanza. I hope you like it. Please Review; it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. And it causes within me an urge to update sooner. _


	4. Paige

_A/N: YAY! BONANZA TIME! This makes me joyful, joyful. So… I'm gonna stop talking and write; that is my job. Yours is to review and make me so happy I dance in the den. However, I'm sorry to say most of you are slackers at this job and not getting pay raises any time soon! So. I'm going to REALLY stop talking now and REALLY write. Where was I? By the way, the italicized words (that aren't thought-quotes) are stories from the past. Enjoy!_

Chapter Four

Riley paced outside the house. He wanted to be the first one to see the doctor when he drove up. Also, he didn't want to reveal to the Cartwrights how nervous he was.

Another good reason was that, if he got sick like the coward he was, he didn't want anyone to see.

What in the world was Paige Anton doing here? Why was she so… bruised? Where was her brother? They were usually together.

Riley couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible had happened to Paige since he saw her last, something a lot worse than a fall down a flight of stairs. Joe had mentioned a gunshot wound... 

Someone had shot his Paige. Part of Riley wanted to laugh nervously and say that not only had she probably had it coming, she'd probably pushed the attacker to it. Another part of him wanted to find the shooter and kill him.

_The last time he'd seen Paige, he'd been a different man. A braver, stronger, but less wise man. He remembered talking to her before the fallout, kissing her and asking her what he should say to Jacob. _

_Being Paige, there had been no good advice, no pep talk on how he was totally capable. No, all she'd said was, "You're an idiot for wanting to leave me and the money, but anyone's who's an idiot should at least be a brave idiot. So if you're going to leave, just tell him, stupid."_

_One of the reasons he'd been so in love with her. _

_But she'd cried when he left. He felt bad for her, and whispered advice in her ears: "Get out now. Get out now, Paige."_

_When the Sherriff came to arrest the cattle rustlers, Paige and her brother had been mysteriously missing. _

But then there was jail. Then there was the change within Riley. Now he was quieter and less opinionated. She probably wouldn't like him anymore.

The doctor and Adam rode up to the house, Adam on his own horse and Doc Martin on Riley's. Riley hadn't even noticed his was gone.

The doctor slid off his horse and looked at Riley. "Is she upstairs?"

Riley nodded. "The same room as before, I think. That's what Hoss said…" He shrugged helplessly.

The doctor nodded and scrambled (well, he waddled) into the house, holding his black bag tightly. Riley watched him go.

_I should follow him up,_ he thought, biting his lip and staring at the house nervously.

Adam was looking at him funny. "You seem really worried. Do you know her?"

What should he reply? He had nothing to hide, but maybe Paige did. "No, I don't know her. She's your guest here? What happened to her?"

Adam shrugged. "She just stumbled into the yard one day, bleeding from all these cuts, a bunch of bruises. I would've thought she'd fallen from the cliff, but there was a gunshot wound in her side."

Yeah, killing the shooter was looking better every moment.

"She won't tell us what's going on, and she sure is ornery," commented Adam.

"Didn't you call her a terror when we rode up?"

"Yeah. She is a terror. She looked ready to fight me when I told her to lie back down. She pulled a knife on Hoss."

_Yeah, that sounds about right, _he wanted to say, but held his tongue. "You said she wouldn't tell you what happened to her?"

Adam smiled a little, pushing back his hat. "Technically she's told us that she was hit and shot. And then she smiled evilly and shut her mouth."

Riley laughed, but inwardly he seethed. He would _kill_ whoever did this to her. Perhaps she wouldn't talk to Adam, but she would talk to Riley if he had to break all of his set personal rules to get her confession.

He looked up at the window, though it wasn't her room he looked at. "I hope she gets better. She sounds like an interesting little thing."

**Break**

If Paige hadn't wanted to see Riley because of the past, now she didn't want to see him because she was humiliated. She hadn't meant to turn and run like a guilty child, but she couldn't help herself. All those years, and suddenly he was standing in front of her, staring like she'd grown three heads. No doubt he would tell the Cartwrights everything about her just as soon as he got the chance, too. No doubt he thought she was crazy, a coward.

No doubt they'd put two and two together and be looking for Jacob by midday. She and her brother had come into this region only recently, but Jacob was determined to sell as many heads of cattle as he could steal. But she'd heard the Cartwrights talking, and she knew that no more cattle had disappeared in the last few days. Jacob was probably looking for her.

Which, she thought to herself glumly, probably meant he wouldn't be watching his own back well enough. Anyone would be able to sneak up behind him; she would be willing to bet on it.

Paige would have to leave then, she thought, making herself more comfortable on her bed. She would have to sneak out.

Especially if Riley was spilling his guts. She would have to leave very quickly indeed.

There was only one problem. When Paige had woken up, that imbecile doctor had been glaring at her and declaring that she would not walk for at least a week. Knowing the wisdom behind this, she hadn't argued. She was not in any shape to get up and walk around.

However, she was going to have to get in that shape pretty quickly, because Paige Anton had no intention of waiting a week. Three days, she decided. Three days at most.

Paige sighed and looked at her window, frowning. She was glad they had left her alone so far. Pretty soon, she was sure, someone would come in and the interrogation would commence.

But no one came.

She waited ten minutes.

Still no one.

By the end of the hour, she finally stopped waiting. No one was coming, she decided, or they wouldn't take so dad-blamed long about it.

Sighing and perplexed, she decided not to worry about it and let her mind wander, absentmindedly massaging her arm, which she was pretty sure she had sprained. It had been aching since she woke up…

She thought about Riley. It had been so long since she'd seen him. She didn't even know what had happened to him since that night those years ago… when she had just ran away. She hadn't even looked for him, too angry that he'd left. So angry that he'd betrayed the group.

_The anger faded with the years, until she found that she was proud of him. Proud of the man who'd broken up the rustlers… because he'd found the strength to go when he got sick of it. She wished she could find that strength. _

_Because Paige didn't want to steal anymore. She didn't want to run anymore. She wanted something simple and sweet, a house, perhaps a husband and kids. Every day she wished for the chance to tell Jacob that she was leaving, getting out. _

_Only two things stopped her. One, her fear of being alone. Where would she go if she left? There would be no man to help her along, to protect her. Paige wouldn't have admitted that feeling for the world, though. The Brick Wall That Was Paige Anton did not need help. She was just fine alone. _

_At least, that's what everyone thought. But Paige was smart. She knew that no woman was going to make it alone if she started in the middle of nowhere. She needed that perfect chance, those circumstances. She needed companionship. _

_Turns out, even Brick Walls need someone to lean on. _

Paige scoffed as she thought about that. She had no one to lean on now except these stupid Cartwrights. But the Cartwright couldn't stop death itself, they might not even want to once they found out about Jacob. (It was just another reason she needed to get out of here. If the ones who put the bruises on her face and the bullet in her side discovered she was still alive… then she was dead.)

Shuddering, Paige forced herself to think about her other memories. The ones that weren't potentially life-threatening.

_The second thing that stopped her from leaving was the love she had. The love of Jacob, her idiot of a brother who couldn't make it without her. He wasn't smart enough. He was too mean and too short-sighted. She couldn't leave him if he was going to stay an outlaw. And he had no wish to go straight. _

_So Paige waited for the chance. She secretly hoped (though, again, wild horses couldn't have dragged it from her) that she would meet Riley again. He would see her one day and smile, and then her heart would melt again. She would be just as in love with him as he used to be, and he would have a perfectly reasonable explanation for being gone and sending the Sherriff after the group… _

_He would take her away and marry her. Hoss…_

Hoss? What? No, she was thinking of Riley, wasn't she? She didn't even like Hoss. That man was like too-sweet candy, turning her stomach. She was definitely thinking about Riley…

Only… was she? If so, her dream had turned to nothing, just dust in the wind. Because when she'd seen him standing there, tall and (in her opinion) handsome, she had felt lightheaded. Nowhere amongst the alarm at being seen was there a spark of joy, a bit of pleasure or a feeling of intoxication. There was no warm emotion.

She didn't love Riley. That had died with her childhood, long before she learned to hate stealing. It was gone before her face had been punched and her side pierced with a bullet.

And so, of course, it was gone long before she tumbled down the stairs and humiliated herself.

Seems like Paige needed a new daydream to dream about.

Suddenly overcome with pain and emotion, Paige did the most embarrassing thing of all. She burst into tears.

_Oh!_ she thought, putting her face in a pillow_. I don't like this place! I just want to go back to Jacob now!_

Being alone was scary.

She cried as though her heart was breaking, the tears doing her a world of good.

The second time in so many days… how humiliating! How was this being a Brick Wall, strong and brave? This… this was just being a _girl._

Still sobbing, she eventually dropped off to sleep.

When she awoke, the day was nearly spent, and Riley was standing above her, looking concerned.

"Hello, Paige. I think we need to have a talk, no?"

She was a bit alarmed. "No."

He blushed. "Nice way to say hi."

She shook her head, trying to clear it. "What are you going here?"

"Working. I said I'd stop by and see if you were awake and hungry. I think you scared the rest of them out of wanting to come up."

She sat straight up in bed. "Why? Did you tell them…? What did you say?"

"Of course I didn't tell them anything. I thought I'd wait and talk to you first. Where's Jacob?"

Stubborn as always, Paige answered a question with a question. "Where have you been for six years?"

"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours," he answered. No more "Um"s from him. He was determined to be just as strong and unbreakable as she was.

She looked him up and down. "No," she muttered at last, settling back into her comfy bed. "I'm not telling you anything when I haven't seen you in ix years. I don't trust you."

"Who do you trust?"

"Me."

His face softening at her childish, angry tone, so like the Paige of old, he leaned down and touched her bruised cheek.

"Paige?"

No answer.

"Who gave you that? Who was it, Paige?"

She didn't answer, and he felt himself beginning to crumble under her immovability. But he took a look at her injury, and found that he could wait forever if he found out the truth.

Pulling up a chair and sitting in the dying sunlight, which was prepared to fade into moonlight, he said, "You cost my five years of my life, Paige. I'll let you have a few more hours of it. I can wait. If someone comes up to check on me, I'll just say I'm waiting for my old girlfriend to spill the beans. I think the Cartwrights will side with me…"

Frustrated, she glared at him. He wasn't going to win this one! She wouldn't tell him a thing… probably.

_A/N: Okay. That's not very exciting, I know, but next chapter I will explain all of her background, what she's doing here, who beat her up… AND, if we're lucky, we'll finally meet Jacob. _


	5. Paige's Story

Chapter Five

"Okay, fine. What do you want to know?" she asked, her eyes narrowed into angry slits.

"Everything. I want to know where you've been since I left, who you've met, how Jacob was, where he is now… I want to know every single thing."

"That's a lot," she stalled.

"I've got time. And you're not getting out of bed for a week anyway."

"Three days."

"What?"

"I'm staying in bed for three days. I've got to get out of here as fast as I can." 

"No way!" exclaimed Riley, appalled. "You can't heal that quickly."

"Riley," she said in a dangerous voice. "If you want me to tell you what's been happening, then you have to be quiet."

"Okay, I'll be quiet."

"After you left, we lit out as fast as we could. Jacob wanted to stay, kept saying you wouldn't have the guts to tell on us. Turns out he was wrong, because next thing we heard, everyone had been arrested. I asked around town about you, but no one knew anything. Jacob and I moved on. For the next couple of years we wandered around, building a new group, and…" here she sighed "cattle rustling. I don't remember where it was, but somewhere near by Jacob got into trouble. Big trouble. This man named Cameron—well, it's a really long story, but they were fighting over some cattle and Cameron pulled a gun." Her eyes looked suddenly brighter, and her voice strained. "Anyone would know better—you can't pull a gun on Jacob. You just can't. And… so Jacob killed him, but it was self-defense! Jacob would've gone to trial to prove it, but… after all, when you're a cattle thief, you can't really turn yourself in for killing in self-defense, can you?"

"No," said Riley softly, "I don't suppose you can."

"So we left again. It was about this time—or maybe it was a little before, I don't know, that I stopped wanting to be a cattle rustler. I started wanting…" She choked on her words. She couldn't share her dreams with Riley, not after all this time. Blushing, she continued, "I started wanting out. Then a few months later, I got a blessing in disguise—I got arrested."

Riley very nearly jumped out of his chair. "And tried? For cattle rustling?"

"Yes. But I got lucky. Guess my attorney was good. Guess I looked like a helpless woman… I don't know. I was found innocent."

"But you were guilty."

"I wasn't going to argue with the verdict, Riley. Don't you realize what that meant for me? It meant I was free! Free! They couldn't try me for that again! It was a wonderful feeling… yes, I see you looking disapproving at me, and yes, I did feel guilty getting away scot-free, but this was my chance to change my life, and I wasn't throwing it away. I went and found Jacob, told him I wanted out. Dash-blame it, he argued like mad! He kept insisting I couldn't go. Said I was his sister, and he had to protect me. Hah. Hah, that's what I said to him. He needed me. I didn't need him, not in the least. I wasn't throwing my life away for him. I wasn't committing one more crime… I told him all that." She wasn't lying, she figured, as long as she just claimed she'd said those words. As long as she didn't try to say they were true. "But," she continued, "He convinced me to stay one more night. Just one more, and then, he said he'd take me into town, find me a place to stay. That was the night that Cameron's brother found us."

Suddenly she had to stop and take a few deep breaths. She blinked furiously at the ceiling, trying to keep back the tears.

Riley's heart ached for her, but he said nothing. She was acting skittish, like a deer, and he didn't want to scare her off. He wanted her to tell him everything, even if he thought it might make him explode from pure fury.

"An eye for an eye," she whispered. "One of the most misunderstood Bible verses of all time. But that's what he kept saying, over and over. An eye for an eye. A sibling for a sibling." She felt her hands begin to shake, and quickly hid them under her blanket. Doggone it, she wasn't acting like her regular fearless self. But she couldn't help that. The sooner she finished her narrative, the sooner Riley would leave her alone. "They took me away, Riley. I know my brother fought, but I don't know if anyone was hurt… not until recently did I even dare think that he was alive. They fought and they lost, and these men took me away." She shivered again. "They thought they were so tough. I could've taken them, but I was outnumbered. I didn't have a weapon. But they weren't so bad. I wasn't hurt very much—not until they shot me." Swallowing, she determinedly kept talking. "They thought I was dead, Riley, that's why they left. But didn't I tell you they weren't such hotshots? They were too drunk to know a dead girl from an injured one at first… too bad for them. Because… when one leaned over me, I yanked out his knife. I… I stabbed him. It was… it was… pretty bad…"

Here she had to stop talking altogether. There were about five silent minutes while she pulled herself together, and Riley really lusted after these men's blood… that is, assuming Paige hadn't already spilled it all.

"He was dead, and he deserved it. There were three men in all, Riley. I don't know if all three are dead now, or only the one… I don't know! I threw the knife, and another fell. I took his knife, and I pushed the third man. He was so drunk he went tumbling headfirst down the hill, and he didn't come back up. I took the knife and I just went; I didn't look back. It all gets really hazy there. Next thing I know, I'm with these controlling Cartwrights. I didn't know then if Jacob was dead… I told myself he was okay, but I didn't know. I think I know now though."

Riley patiently waited for her to continue. She was beginning to smile now, glad to be over the worst of it. She wasn't even crying, Riley saw in awe. Paige was an amazing woman.

"Adam Cartwright kept going on about missing cattle. But then he started saying how they were losing less and less. And recently, the cattle rustlers stopped taking any at all. Don't you realize what that means? Jacob stopped because he's looking for me! He must be worried sick… and he has to stop taking the Cartwrights' cattle. They did save my life after all. That's what I have a maximum of three days to find him and tell him everything… and get him out of here. I won't turn him in, but I mean it about wanting to go straight." She finished her story with a triumphant nod, so pleased with herself and her plans that Riley didn't have the heart to look incredulous.

"That's quite a story," he said instead.

She nodded. "And I'm quite determined to follow my own plans, no one else's. Don't try to talk me out of them, Riley, because I don't want to be." 

"And what are you going to do?" he asked. "After you finish saving the Cartwrights and your brother so heroically. Where are you going to go?"

Paige would not have admitted for the world that her thoughts were on a certain big, tall, strong cowboy. She shrugged and blushed. "I will find something."

"I'm sure."

"So what about you, Riley? Where have you been; what have you been up to?"

Riley leaned back and smiled a mirthless smile. "Um, not much, really. I just got out of jail a year ago."

"You went to jail, then?" asked Paige, not sounding surprised.

"I did. Not for very long, I admit. Still. It was the worst time of my life. I learned a lot of valuable lessons there, though."

He paused just long enough to nearly drive Paige insane with curiosity. "Like…?" she prompted.

"Um, like never speak first. Like never go out of your way to make something right, just keep your head down. Like hit first, ask questions later. There are more, but I don't think you'd be interested in hearing them."

"Wonderful lessons. Nice things to live by," said Paige sarcastically.

Riley nodded his head, but he smiled. "I'll un-learn them for you just as soon as I can. The best one I learned is this: Don't break the law and you probably won't go to jail."

Paige smiled. "I'm proud of you for going straight. Dagnab it, it's hard to do, isn't it?"

"Only if your brother is the leader of a bunch of cattle rustlers and he's the only family you have left."

"I suppose so. Continue your story."

"I got out, walked around, got odd jobs here and there. I wanted something more permanent, though, and I heard about the Cartwrights. I heard a lot about the Cartwrights. How they believed in second chances. How they were kind and paid well. How they didn't discriminate… I thought it was too good to be true, but I checked it out. And now here I am, with a job and an old girlfriend." Riley smiled again, and this time it held some amusement.

Paige paused. Then she shifted under the covers and asked, "Are you going to tell them about Jacob?"

Riley tilted his head to the side. "I don't know if it's right, Paige, and I don't know if it's the right thing to do… But think of it this way: Unless another head of steer goes missing, unless Jacob's still around here by the end of the week, then I didn't hear anything. At all. Got it?"

Paige smiled with some relief. "Good. Three days until I'm well enough to ride. Less than that until I'm getting around this house. And then… a whole new life? Who knows? Things just might be looking up."

"Just might."

"Riley?"

"Yes?"

"I kind of missed you."

"Same here, Paige."

_A/N: I know this is mostly Paige and Riley, but I really want the Cartwrights to start entering soon. It's just that there's so much dadburned background to build! I'm sorry, thanks to those that read. I also know it's short but I'm in a huge hurry these past two weeks. HUGE! Even now I'm typing this and we're leaving in two minutes. So please excuse (and point out to me) any mistakes this chapter. I will try to update next week. _


	6. Adam's Suspicions

_A/N: I know, I was gone very long. I admit I got bored with this story. But I'm back now, though I have no idea when the next update will be. After Christmas? Anyway, rest assured that I will never give up on this story unless I am dead or otherwise unable to. That being said, enjoy the chapter and I would really appreciate reviews! _

_This one is a little slow, but it needs to be here to get the action/romance going. _

Chapter Six

It took a while for Paige to accept that she wasn't going down those stairs by herself.

She insisted that she could walk, despite having taken her spill just two days ago, but Hoss, who had been badly shaken by her tumble, told her firmly that she wasn't navigating the stairs without help.

Paige pitched a dreadful fit which included many words such as 'dadburn' and 'goshdog'. She was going down those stairs, dagnab it; she would do it _now_.

And she went for the door.

But Hoss was bigger than Paige, and more patient, two things he used to his advantage now.

"Hoss Cartwright! You get out of that chair and away from the foor!"

"Miss Anton, iffin' you go down the stairs, ya'll just fall again."

"Let me fall where I want to fall, then! Blast it, get up!"

And here Paige tried to push him off the chair and force her way out of the room, which, needless to say, didn't work.

"I can't let you take those stairs alone."

"Oh, fie! They're stairs, not something dangerous! What kind of person locks up a lady anyway?"

"You ain't locked up, Miss Anton."

"If you think I'm letting you carry me—or even _half_-carry me…!"

Hoss said nothing, afraid of sounding as though he was enjoying himself. Truth be told, he thought she looked right pretty like this—red-faced, hair mussed, and not holding a knife.

_Not like it'd be the first time I had to carry her. First time awake, though. _

* * *

Outside in the hall, Adam and Joe chuckled.

"She's a wildcat," said Joe, laughing. "I think I preferred her silent."

"She-devil," agreed Adam quite fondly. "Remember, she was only silent when no one tried to make her do what she didn't want to."

"But we've dealt with our share of that kind, right?" asked Joe.

Content to wait for dinner until Paige 'came around', Adam sighed and leaned against the wall, suddenly thoughtful. "Maybe, Joe, maybe."

"What do you mean, Adam?" asked Joe, still grinning.

But Adam was serious. "She's not like that woman of fire, Joe, not really. And she's not about to spit on our mothers' shadows, or whatever it was. She's just stubborn. She's in the middle of a war with the world."

"Well, Hoss certainly isn't going to fight with her!"

"Maybe that's why she's more likely to listen to him than us. He deals with her the best. You'd lose your temper, and I must admit that even I have wanted to spank her multiple times since she showed up. She's just so hard-headed."

"Yeah, nothing worse than a really hard-headed person, is there?" remarked Joe.

Adam ignored the thinly veiled joke. "I wonder why she's trying to fight battles that don't exist. It's like she's a little child…"

His brow furrowed; Paige worried him. It hadn't escaped his notice that she seemed very familiar with Riley—as though she'd known him for years.

And they had shown up in the same week.

Shortly afterward, the cattle rustling had slowed to a halt.

And upon spotting Riley, Paige panicked.

And Paige was in a huge hurry to get well and get out.

Riley had been jailed for cattle rustling.

Paige still refused to say what had happened to her.

Could all of that be a coincidence? No, surely not. But Adam knew that some of this could be explained away. Perhaps Paige was just too traumatized to talk about her injuries.

Maybe she had known Riley once, but the meeting _was_ a coincidence. But why had she panicked? And did that mean that she, too, had history with cattle rustlers?

Riley's story about getting out of jail recently checked out; Sherriff Coffee had gotten back to Adam on that. The job in Texas, according to the man who responded to Coffee's telegram, had fallen apart when the wife of Riley's employer took too great of a liking to the poor ranch hand. Riley, interested only in avoiding any kind of trouble, got out quickly and came to Nevada. He'd evidently kept his nose clean since jail. So perhaps the cattle rustlers now and in his past had nothing to do with each other.

Still. Everything was happening at once. It was so very unlikely that all of this was unrelated.

So Adam would keep his eyes open. For now, he could keep his suspicions to himself. He didn't want to stress Pa, who was driving himself crazy over the cattle rustlers. And he didn't want to unnecessarily alarm Hoss, who had taken quite a liking to their comely little rebel.

Adam was good at keeping quiet. Plus, he wasn't even sure if his suspicions meant anything.

A crash from inside the bedroom brought Adam back from his daydreaming.

"What was that?" cried Joe, also alarmed.

Adam wondered for a moment if she was just stubborn enough to jump out of a window rather than accept help… or mad enough to throw something at Hoss.

But his fear was unfounded, and a moment later the door opened to reveal Hoss – holding Paige up bridal-style.

She looked mad enough to spit ink.

Adam bit his lip and looked at the ceiling. If he couldn't see, he wouldn't laugh.

Joe wasn't so smart, letting out a high-pitched giggle before he could stop himself.

"Shut up!" barked poor Paige. "Hoss, put me down! I want to kill Joe!"

"No," said Hoss quite firmly.

Paige let out a strangled scream, her face burning. She resisted the urge to hide her face in humiliation. "Get me down those double-danged stairs _quickly_, then, or so help me I'll knock us both down them!"

Hoss believed her, too. Joe bit his lip, like Adam, and covered his face with his hand. Adam didn't even look at Hoss or Paige.

Paige seethed. She couldn't believe that Hoss had convinced her to do this. It was mortifying.

Kind Hoss didn't waste a minute in getting her downstairs and onto the couch, for which she was grateful. She sank into the comfortable fabric, glad to be out of that room even if she didn't care for her method of transportation.

At least Adam had stopped smiling like that. Joe was still smirking into his hand, something that made her feel murderous, but she kept it to herself, pointedly not looking at him. Stupid little boy in a man's clothing.

She looked around the room, because she'd never really gotten a very good look at it. But now she could see it all. And what she saw…! These Cartwrights were wealthy, she noticed, but then she'd already known that.

Hoss smiled down at her. "There. You wanted to get out. Not very exciting, is it?"

"It is to me," she admitted. "I've been in that room for days." That was a lie, of course. Paige had waited approximately 24 hours before she was so bored that she had to get out of her bed and sneak around the house.

Joe chuckled. "Now you get to see something worth seeing. The only really exciting thing that happens around here."

"Other than meals," Hoss supplied cheerily.

Joe nodded. "Me and Hoss are gonna play checkers."

Even Paige cracked a smile. She watched as the boys set up the board, feeling unexplainably cheery, something as out of character for her as it was for a bird to not sing on a spring morning.

"I'm first, Hoss."

"Joe, you went first last time."

"I know, but winner of last game goes first, right?"

"It's my turn!" protested Hoss.

"I'll tell you what, Hoss, you win this game and you can start next time. This is the way we've always played it."

"No, it ain't."

Paige leaned back. Was she going crazy, or was it possible that she was enjoying herself? Since when had she found bickering brothers and a nice, comfortable couch entertaining? She was used to more adventure in her daily routine.

_Maybe it's the novelty. I'm sure that's what it is. _

She saw Adam go to the bookshelf and look over the covers, choosing as carefully as a woman chose her dress at a store. Then, with obvious relish, he pulled a well-worn book from its place and opened it. Cradling the book in his arms, the dark-haired cowboy sat and began to read.

Paige wondered what could be so good that he held it like a treasure. What story could be so enjoyable that his face was already changing with the emotions of that the words held?

Paige had to ask. "What's that, Adam?"

Adam looked up. "Shakespeare."

Paige made a face.

"Don't like him?"

Paige shook her head. "Never understood him."

Adam smiled. "Then you are missing out." He went back to reading.

Her gray eyes watched him for several seconds in silence. He kept reading.

"Perhaps," she found herself saying, "if you tried to explain some of it to me, I'd get it."

He looked up.

Suddenly feeling unsure, Paige averted her eyes. "Never mind," she said, making an attempt not to mumble the words under her breath. "I'm sure you just want to read…"

But Adam smiled.

And when Hoss looked up from the game he was losing a few minutes later, he saw his big brother leaning over Paige, easily explaining the meaning of a certain passage to her. The injured girl, now dressed in one of Joe's old shirts (which fit her rather badly) and her own skirt, looked at the page as though it was a puzzle she couldn't figure, face screwed up in concentration. It was reminiscent of how Adam used to teach his brothers a hard lesson, patiently and in a warm, inviting voice.

The thought made Hoss smile a little bit. He liked the friendly, sibling-like picture in front of him. And he liked that Paige was part of that scene.

"Aw, Hoss, you're letting me win."

Hoss looked down to see Joe take three pieces in one jump.

"Dadburn it, Joe."


	7. Paige's Wild Ride

_A/N: No reviews. That's a first for me. Disappointing. Please try to review this time? I can't improve without advice!_

Chapter Seven

"What are you doing, Joe?"

Paige's voice, which had been as sweet as the honey Hoss liked on his pancakes a second ago, now sounded more reminiscent of winter's snow.

Joe looked up from the game. "What do you mean? I'm playing checkers."

Paige sat up straighter, wincing a little, and pushed away the book that Adam dangled in front of her. "Stop that," she ordered.

Joe looked nervous. "Okay."

Paige glared at him. She'd seen that, even if Hoss hadn't. Little Joe Cartwright cheated. Cheated his own brother! She felt her eyes narrow into little slits and kept them on Joe; fury practically radiated from her.

Hoss looked back and forth between Paige and Joe, puzzled.

Adam leaned back so he wasn't in Paige's line of sight and smiled just a little. Joe was famous in the family for cheating at checkers, and Hoss never seemed to notice. It was a kind of family joke, one that Paige naturally wouldn't know about. But frankly, Adam was just a bit too scared of her to explain.

Paige wanted to tell Joe off something fierce. She didn't approve of cheating at games. It was wrong of Joe to take advantage of Hoss, who, from what Paige had seen, was the kindest of the bunch but perhaps not the smartest.

They weren't playing any more, just staring at each other awkwardly—with the exception of Paige, who still had her eyes narrowed and her gaze glued onto Joe.

Hoss was bewildered as to what had set her off. Adam was beginning to feel slightly amused… and wary, too. Joe felt as he would if Pa caught him 'robbing the bank' again… Okay, admittedly he didn't feel quite _that_ ashamed and scared, but the two experiences were similar.

Paige opened her mouth again, and Joe prepared himself for the verbal beating. Then, to his surprise, she closed her mouth. A funny look came over her face, and she sank slowly back into her seat.

_I don't think it's right to cheat at games, but I cheat… in life?_

Her heart fell a bit lower in her chest.

Paige choked a bit and sat straight up again. That settled it. She had to see Jacob. Not for another minute would she even allow her brother to _think_ that she was willing to steal again. No more one-more-night nonsense; Jacob was getting the truth whether he wanted it or not. She was getting out now, never mind waiting two more days.

Before Adam could stop her, she rocketed to her feet, gasping a little as her side protested. She shot Joe one venomous look and ran for the door, leaving the Cartwright men dumbfounded behind her.

"Paige!" cried Hoss, standing.

Paige threw the door open, quickly but careful not to open her wound again, and ran into the yard. Riley was there, outside, walking his horse toward the barn.

"Riley!" she yelled to him, running forward, arms outstretched.

He stared. "What…? Paige, you shouldn't be walking…!"

She ignored him, and nearly ran into his horse when she tried to put on the breaks. "Give me Thunder," she demanded.

He stumbled backward from his horse, Thunder, automatically, startled to see tears in her eyes.

She grabbed the reins and, after one pained grunt, pulled herself up into the saddle. "C'mon, Thunder," she said, "ride!"

And he did.

Hoss flew out of the house, in time to see her urge the horse out of the yard, hunched over in her seat.

"Riley!" he cried. "Why'd you let her go?"

"Uh…" Riley still looked around, dazed.

Hoss muttered, "Dadburn it!" He switched directions and ran for the other horses as Joe and Adam busted from the house and ran into the yard.

"Where's he going?" asked Riley.

"Chub," said Adam wisely, still clutching Shakespeare.

"Paige… why'd she go?"

Joe looked guilty. "She got upset with me when she saw me cheating at checkers… and… I don't even know."

"Hoss'll catch her," said Adam, reassuringly.

Riley nodded. He wasn't sure why she was so upset, but then he'd never understood her – or any woman really – very well. But he hoped she didn't hurt herself in this wild little ride.

**Break**

It took a while for Hoss to catch up. Longer than Paige had expected it to, actually, so she took advantage of this time to cool down.

She told Thunder quite firmly that he was to stay still as she got down from his back, and then leaned against a tree, sinking slowly to her haunches. The moonlight danced brightly over the water before her, turning the waves to sparkly white where it touched. The part of the water in shadow, or covered by other waves, stayed a dull black. The moonlight stretched all the way across the lake and onto the trees, landing on Paige and tempting her to smile. She resisted the urge, but admired the paleness of her arms when in the light. Head down, she waited patiently for someone to find her.

It was a good five or ten minutes before the sound of horse hooves met her ears. She didn't turn her head, but listened in silence as the rider stopped his animal and dismounted. Feet made crunching sounds that grew louder as they got nearer.

"Now," said Hoss, "what was that all about, anyway?"

She smiled, glad. She had hoped it would be Hoss who came. "Joe just made me angry."

"So you ran out, despite being injured?" He sounded a little angry, but she didn't care.

"He was cheating. It… dagnab it— it irritated me."

Hoss came forward, found a place on the ground, and sat heavily. He _was _angry; she could tell by the way he held himself, the set of his shoulders and the way his big fists were clenched.

"I know," he said.

Paige was surprised. Of course, by now she knew well enough that Hoss wasn't one to argue with her. But… he knew?

"You did?"

"Joe always cheats at checkers, ever since he was a little kid, I reckon. It's a joke in our family; he thinks he's so sneaky, but Adam and Pa always see it." With every word he spoke, she saw the anger falling away.

"And they tell you?" she asked curiously.

"Nah, they just play along. When he was a little boy, he wasn't so good at hiding his cheating, and I always saw it. Nowadays I don't see him do it; I just know he does."

"You don't care? You might win some times if you called him out."

Hoss shrugged, staring out at the lake and not looking at her directly, as thought that kind of attention would set her off again. "I don't mind him winning. Of all the fights I could chose to pick, this one isn't the most important. But it makes him feel good."

She stared at him, uncomprehending. He didn't care? How could someone just not care? Paige wondered what he would say if she told him the truth about her and why she was upset. _"Ahh, that's okay, I don't mind you having been a cattle rustler. It might not be fair, but heck, take our cattle too. It's not important. As long as it makes you feel good."_

Well, perhaps not.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while he enjoyed the view and she mulled over his words.

At last he spoke up. "You chanced on my favorite spot in the Ponderosa, Miss Anton."

"Paige."

"Sorry?"

"Call me Paige."

He nodded and accepted it. "You chanced on my favorite spot in the Ponderosa, then, Paige."

"Did I? Why is it your favorite?"

He sighed. "It's quiet. And I like the water."

She studied him for a moment, waiting for more, and at last she said, "What? That's it, the only reason?"

He smiled, eyes still turned away from her. "Simple reasons are good. Complicated isn't always the best way, you know."

She looked down at the ground, the wheels spinning in her mind. Maybe he was right. She wished she had things simple.

Again there was no talking for a while, and at last Hoss broke it.

"If I told you to go back to the Ponderosa, you'd probably say no."

"Probably."

"And if I picked you up you'd get injured— you didn't hurt yourself already?"

"I'm pretty tough."

"I know. You'd fight like a wildcat, too, wouldn't you?"

She nodded, her eyes flickering over the moonlit water. Hoss wouldn't really pick her up… she didn't think, anyway.

He finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "You know, Paige, not everything has to be a battle."

"Maybe not for you."

"Why does it for you?"

She studied him again. "Because. It just does."

He knew that wasn't an answer, so he said nothing to her. Patiently he awaited her real response. She kept her mouth firmly shut for a minute, but at last decided it couldn't hurt anything. Why not tell him?

She looked down. "Because. If you're a Brick Wall, and stubborn, you… you don't get pushed around in little ways," she admitted. Then, realizing it made little sense, she rephrased: "You don't get much choice about what happens to you in life. Your parents die; you get shot…You get attacked. You just don't choose very much, and everything seems to push you around. I hate that thought. I… I want to control what happens to me. Even if it's just the little things. I want to be in control, to decide myself what happens. Who else knows what is best for me?"

"Ever heard of trusting people?"

She laughed with real amusement. "Don't get me wrong, Hoss. I believe that there is someone out there to trust. I know that the whole world isn't a bleak, bleary place full of people who want to swallow me whole. I know there are good people out there… I just doubt I'll ever have much to do with them."

Paige was talking to herself now; she'd forgotten that Hoss was listening. But when he stood up, she was brought back to the present. He stood over her, his face gentle, and softly said, "Paige, the Cartwrights are here to help you now. We're not going to turn you away, and you can trust us."

She stared up at him in astonishment.

"I hope," he said, coughed, and continued, "I hope you chose to."

And then he turned away. In that instant, she understood that he wasn't going to order her to come back. She was going to decide herself if she wanted to. He wasn't going to force this trust on her.

"Hoss?"

He turned back to face her.

"Help me up? I want to go ho— Uh, I want to go back to your house."

Hoss smiled, his face growing rounder, and offered his hand, which she took. She liked how strong and warm it felt, like her whole hand could disappear inside of it. Hoss was an easy person to trust. Paige just hoped that she could be worthy of his trust in return—as soon as she could get rid of the cattle rustlers, she would work on being more trustworthy.

Who knew? She might even decide to try and only pick the important fights.

Maybe.

"I'll get Chub," he told her. "Would you mind getting up on Thunder? I'm sure Riley wants him back."

"I'm sure he does. I'll wait for you here, on Thunder."

Hoss nodded and made his way to Chub. He wasn't far, maybe ten, fifteen steps, but it was enough of an opportunity for Paige to hop on Thunder and ride away, if she so chose.

She waited for him, as she had promised.

Just that little fact made Hoss smile.

Perhaps he didn't know much about her, and she was still just a stranger. He had many questions about her that were as yet unanswered. But he knew a little. She was strong. She was pretty. She felt tossed around by the world.

And he knew that she was, at the end of the day, a woman, a human. She couldn't live on brawls, verbal or otherwise. She needed some trust, and it seemed that she was beginning to trust him.

That was good for her, Hoss felt sure. This whole little stay at the Ponderosa could do her good, and in time he would be able to count her among his dearest friends.

_Or,_ he couldn't help thinking, _maybe even more. If she wants. More than friends._

And he recalled that she had almost called the Ponderosa 'home' a few moments ago.


	8. Paige's Search

Chapter Eight

"Uh, maybe I should go with you."

"I won't get lost," Paige assured Riley, "and I'm hardly in any danger from my _brother_."

Riley shrugged noncommittally. "But how do I know your injury won't give you trouble?"

"It wouldn't dare," she said with a twisted little smile.

"How do I know you'll come back?" It was dark again outside, and Paige was saddling up Thunder in the barn while Riley leaned against the wall, watching her unhelpfully.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"Um, no, not in so many words, you just said you would 'find something'. I'm not so sure I trust you not to run off."

"I won't. I'll come back."

"Promise?"

"Sure."

"Then I should come with you; in case something happens, you can keep your promise."

She stopped and turned to face him, eyes narrowed into slits. "Do you really want me to start screaming at you?"

"No, you'd wake the Cartwrights. Besides, you've been so even-tempered all day. Even when Joe was practically begging for a fight, you just smiled. I thought the world was ending," he added with a smirk.

She turned around and shrugged. "It wasn't worth fighting about."

Riley looked up to see if he could spot angels descending for Judgment Day, but it was lost on Paige. Since when had she cared if it was worth it?

Paige, meanwhile, had her back to him and was biting her lip, remembering the proud look on Hoss's face whenever she avoided an argument. It gave her a feeling in her midsection that she could only describe as warmth, though of course it wasn't really heated. That look made biting down her pride when Joe was being annoying worth it, completely worth it. Not that she would say so out loud. Not that she could keep up the good temper very long. (But it was improvement, right? Or was it? Maybe that was a bad thing…?)

Riley laughed a little. "Just don't lose your temper completely, Paige. I like it; it's like watching fireworks."

"If you don't shut up," she warned good-naturedly, "I'll show you fireworks!" Then she patted Thunder on his nose and climbed up. Riley went to open the door with a last minute word of caution. Paige ignored it and smiled at him, appreciating his friendship if not his advice.

"And Paige?" he called as she rode out, trying to remember which direction the cattle that had gone missing had been located in. This was her best guess as to her brother's whereabouts.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"You have until noon tomorrow, and then I'm telling the Cartwrights where you went."

She shrugged. They would probably start searching long before noon, anyway. Besides, she knew Riley, and she didn't really think he would rat her out. At least, she hoped she knew him. It _had _been a long time.

**Break**

In his room, Hoss distantly heard the sound of a horse's hooves in the yard. He twitched in his sleep and turned over, fidgeting away from the noise. It was no big deal. It wasn't an unusual thing to dream about, anyway, horses in the yard. Happened every day.

**Break**

It took hours. Paige wandered over the Ponderosa for hours, the chill of the night seeping into her skin and making her irritable. She didn't search in the more obvious spots; someone had already done so. She remembered shuddering as Adam explained that people were seeking out the thieves. Instead she headed for the rockier parts, the secluded parts, hoping for a sign of life.

She just saw some birds. Some worms. No humans. No brothers.

When another intelligent being (other than Riley's horse, who could be considered more intelligent than lots of humans) finally came along, she didn't find them. They found her.

Her eyelids were beginning to droop and her side to ache. It was a dull ache, but constant, and that made it almost unbearable. But she gritted her teeth and took it like a Brick Wall, more and more angrily determined to _find_ her doggoned brother and shake him till his teeth rattled for being so hard to_ find _in the first place.

As she rode towards one hilly section, covered in trees, she heard sudden shouting behind her, bit she couldn't make out the words. Running footsteps echoed through the air, making her tense. She started and began to turn around, careful of her injury. But before she could, hands grabbed at her, dragging her from the saddle with no thought toward her torn side. Fear shot through her, taking her back to Cameron's brother, to knives and guns…

She panicked and opened her mouth to scream from pain and alarm, when a voice stopped her.

"Paige! It's you; you're here; you're okay!"

She stopped, her heartbeat thudding in her ears. "Jacob? It's you?" She looked up into his blue eyes, and knew that it was… Who else?

In the next second she was wrapped in the embrace of one very relieved brother.

**Break**

At the ranch, Riley stood in the yard, in the dark, by himself. Sleep had evaded him tonight. He stared at the road where Paige had gone, thinking about her, remembering her brother, and waiting patiently for her to return. He'd wait there until he saw her come back.

After all, he wanted to make sure he got his horse back. It would be downright rude of her to leave with Thunder and never come back, the same way he had all those years ago, left her to her fate.

_A/N: I know it was REALLY short, but I wanted to get it out today. Anyway, please review. I would love that. And hopefully next time will be longer. _


	9. Jacob's Petty Revenge

_A/N: When 'you' is in the middle of the sentence, Jacob says you. When at the end, he says ya. Unless it's a special saying or with emphasis. Except when it isn't like that. Don't be confused; go with it and trust me. I _know_ the accent. _

Chapter Nine

"Jacob, you make the _worst _coffee in the Nevada Territory and beyond. And I've tried coffee from all over."

"Children," responded her brother, "should be seen and not heard."

Paige chuckled dryly. "And you were such a quiet child, so you can talk."

Jacob looked up from the fire, the light it cast making his gray eyes appear black and his stubbled cheeks look sallower. He smiled at her, his teeth white in the darkness. "Quieter 'an _you_."

Jacob had spent most of his childhood pushing, shoving, yelling, swearing, and fighting. Paige could never hope to be as rowdy as he was.

They were in the small makeshift camp, drinking coffee – really bad coffee – next to the tiny fire… Big enough to provide heat, small enough not to be sending up smoke signals for those that searched for the cattle rustlers. Jacob had taken her back there the minute he found her, tied up Thunder to a tree, announced to the men that Paige was back, and sat her down, demanding to know her story.

Naturally he wanted to kill Cameron's brother, but she told him not to bother—who would kill a dead man? No, scratch that… Jacob probably would if he could find a way.

"I'm glad you found yer way back," he told her. "I was looking for ya."

"I know." She looked down at her coffee nervously, and not because it would give her stomach pains.

"You were holdin' up business, costin' me money."

"Ooh, I'm _so_ sorry about that," she said sarcastically.

"Well, yer family; yer worth it, I guess."

He meant every word he said in the exact way he said it, and that was what made Jacob unique, she decided. It wasn't always nice, but she could live with not nice. She'd grown up with it, after all. And he loved her. In his own way.

"But now that yer back, we can get to work."

She rolled her eyes. "Jacob, you've forgotten what I told you, haven't you?"

"Which bit?"

"The bit about wanting to leave…?"

He was honestly surprised as he sat up abruptly and stared at her over the flickering fire. "But… that was before."

"Why exactly did you think that being attacked would make me want to be a criminal again?" she asked dryly.

"Where else would ya go?"

"Oh, I'll find something."

Jacob took in a deep breath, giving his sister a suspicious look. "And where have ya been since then? Where'd the bandages come from anyway?"

She swallowed down some coffee, which she had been using to warm her hands.

"And the horse?"

She sighed and smiled. "Someone found me and helped me."

"Who?"

"The Cartwrights."

"_Of the Ponderosa_?"

"Yes, those are the ones." She wondered whether she should mention Riley. Probably not. Jacob hadn't forgiven him for skipping out—Jacob wasn't the forgiving kind.

His stare had turned to gawking. "You didn't tell them…?"

"Of course not; don't be ridiculous. They weren't pushy, didn't ask me any questions. Nice people, the Cartwrights."

He laughed derisively. She felt her fingers curl around her cup while her teeth ground together. How she hated that sound. "What?" he joked. "You'd rather be in their family than ours?"

"Yes, most definitely," she replied coolly, thinking of Hoss, but her brother just laughed.

"Can't pick your family," he reminded her, as though she didn't know. Just another way fate pushed her around; she had to be born into her family instead of one like Hoss's.

Not that she didn't love her family. For the most part.

They drifted off into a comfortable silence, which Paige saw fit to break.

"So… Jacob, I'll be leaving. Tonight. Moving out. And… I expect you to do the same."

His eyes were going to pop out if he didn't stop giving her shocked, wide-eyed looks.

"_What_?"

"I told you I'm done with being a criminal, didn't I? And I can't realistically expect you to do the same just because I am, but I do want you away from here. I'd hate to be guilty of helping a criminal. And… I think that you need to leave the Cartwrights' cattle alone."

He leapt to his feet in a hurry, eyes blazing. The rest of the gang, who had been hanging back and letting the siblings catch up, looked at him without surprise. Paige always made him lose his temper, which was odd, because she never lost her temper at him. Usually it was the other way around.

"Why, you dirty little b—"

"Watch what you call me," she snapped. "Don't forget we're related."

"How dare you… Just giving me up, are you? Who do you think you are?"

Her smile felt like a grimace. "Paige Anton, nice to meet you."

"You've always had delusions, Paige; you thought you were better than I am."

"Oh, Jacob, don't be stupid. I don't think that. I just don't want to get into any more trouble, and you obviously do."

"What are you gonna do? Stay with those filthy rich Cartwrights? You don't have anywhere else to go!"

"Maybe I will stay with them," she said coldly. "I can if I want to. It's a free country. And don't you dare call me what you're about to!"

"And yer just gonna tell me to move on and never come back, eh?"

She bit her lip to keep her from agreeing with what he'd just said. "Jacob," she sighed, but he interrupted her.

"Bein' with those Cartwrights gave ya _more_ delusions. I've half a mind to get out like ya want me to—and just take some of the money in that rich-person house with me."

"You _wouldn't_ be so _ridiculous_!" Now Paige was standing too. "Rob them just because they're_ honest_? You simply wouldn't!"

Okay, so perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever said to her reckless, grudge-holding brother.

His smile was positively sinister as he sat back down. "Sure, Paige."

"Jacob, that wasn't a challenge. Look, I'm…" She forced the word out. "I'm sorry, okay? Just… can't we part on good terms? Please?"

He sighed. "I can't believe you'd do this to me, Paige. Leave me for a bunch of strangers. Tell me to get lost. Usually ya let the law do that."

Paige pushed her dark hair behind her ear, biting her lip. "I'm too hurt and tired to explain it to you again. I'm trying to protect you. I love you, Jacob, okay?"

"Alright, Paige. But mark my words, you'll regret leavin'. I'm yer only family."

"I said, I love you, Jacob," she said through her teeth, and at last he got up and gave her a hug.

"Do you know the way back?" he asked.

"I'll find it."

"It'll be dawn soon."

"I know."

"You'd best go, then."

"Goodbye, Jake."

"Bye, Paige."

She turned, dumping out her disgusting coffee, and walked back to Thunder without so much as a backward glance. But perhaps she should have spared her brother one, if just to see the mean grin that spread across his face. Perhaps being with the Cartwrights had rubbed off on her, made her too trusting.

It wasn't until the sound of horse hooves clacking against the rocky terrain faded away that one of the rustlers, a blond, squat man, spoke up.

"So, what d'ya want us to do, Jacob?"

Jacob tore his eyes off his sister's retreating figure and smiled at the man. "Why, Davie, you heard the lady. We get ready to leave. Course, we'll need money for the trip, right?"

"You're the boss, Jacob. We just do what you say. You've never steered us wrong yet."

Jacob smiled and chuckled. He wasn't planning on steering them wrong now—who knew how much money those Cartwrights had in their house?


	10. Adam's Observations

_A/N: I know it's been too long, but for the next week or so, I'm really going to focus on this story and hopefully finish it. It's nearly finished now. Review?_

Chapter Ten

In the next day or so, Adam just sat back and watched.

Paige was more cheerful than she had been before; she didn't seem to be in any hurry to get better, and she actually tried to watch how many fights she picked a day. Every time she bit her tongue, she would look at Hoss to see if he noticed. Hoss always noticed. Actually, the big man noticed everything she did—he seemed to be watching her a good deal of the time, his eyes drawn to her like magnets.

It made Adam distinctly nervous. Hoss was a huge man, with the huge heart to match, and Adam didn't want him to get hurt (again). And Paige had such a suspicious way of behaving, like she had something to hide…

Or at least, she had. Now, she seemed more at ease. She didn't look nervous when she spotted Riley anymore. She seemed well on the road to recovery with no more incidents. It was like whatever had been bothering her had disappeared. Frankly, that made Adam even more nervous.

The cattle had stopped going missing, on top of everything. Paige had seemed very interested when Adam told Pa that.

Adam kept his quiet suspicions to himself for now; there was nothing he could do and besides, Paige wasn't making any big trouble. It would be prudent to keep quiet, actually. Adam could remember the other times he'd tried interfering and warning Hoss about women he was falling in love with (most ended in fistfights).

Wait… _"Falling in love with"?_

As in, the real thing?

Adam watched from his seat on a comfortable chair and behind a book as Hoss beamed at Paige, who had just beaten him in checkers, fair and square.

It was a definite possibility.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad… But then he thought of the cattle rustling and Riley, the new hand. Maybe it _would._

**Break**

Riley was fondly rubbing his horse's neck when Adam came in.

"Mornin', Riley."

Riley looked up and smiled, a little shyly. "Um, howdy, Adam."

"So…" Adam walked up and patted Thunder's neck, the picture of a man just wanting to chat. "How's the job working out for you?"

Nervous, Riley shot him a look.

Adam took note of it but wasn't sure if it meant anything. Riley seemed to be a naturally nervous person—or perhaps not "naturally," but certainly "habitually."

Inwardly, Riley was thinking to himself that Adam didn't seem to be the kind that just "chatted" with men who obviously were inverted and liked being left alone… Men like Riley.

"Very well, thanks. It's good to find an honest day's work."

"I'm sure it is."

"Nice people, too. I like ranches."

"Do you?"

"Well enough."

"Pa and Joe and Hoss—they're good men, don't you think?"

Riley gave him another side glance. "Some of the best."

"And Paige?"

"What about her?"

"She's nice."

"Yes, I think so. Very nice."

Adam leaned forward as though they'd finally come to the point he was interested in. "Hoss seems to think so too."

Riley felt a grin blooming over his face. He'd noticed that the very kind, very rich, very honest Hoss Cartwright seemed to be taking an interest in hardheaded little Paige Anton. Better yet, she seemed to return the feelings. It did seem a perfect solution for a girl trying to get out a life of crime, and he was glad of it.

"Riley," said Adam suddenly, "when you came here you told me that you didn't know Paige, but—"

But before Adam could tell Riley what he had deduced (or guessed), which was sure to be quite brilliant, the man he was talking to suddenly felt the need to cut him off.

"Adam, um, where's everyone else?"

"Pa's in town," said Adam, irritated and a little bemused (people rarely interrupted him in his brilliant speeches). "Joe and Hoss are out doing chores; I should actually be with them now. Paige should be sleeping but probably isn't. Why?"

"…Who do I hear riding up to the house in such a hurry?"

Adam paused, at once hearing it too, and then both men started for the door to the barn.

**Break**

Paige was not sleeping. She was in the main room downstairs, just sitting and thinking. She heard horses but paid no attention. She heard voices, one of which was Riley, and she thought he said a name…

She sat up a little straighter, straining her ears, but really there wasn't any need. It wasn't hard to hear.

Riley's strangled voice cried out a name: "Jacob!"

And then it was all hollering and gunshots, and Paige was on her feet, running to the door.


	11. The Fight

Chapter Eleven

They were a good distance from the house when it occurred to Hoss that he'd forgotten a hammer for fixing fences, a rope for the horses… Basically, he'd forgotten just about everything he needed.

Joe groaned. "How did you forget that?" He put his hand over his eyes in exasperation.

Hoss could almost feel himself blushing and growled, "Dadburn it, I don't know, Joe. I just forgot." Usually Joe was the one to forget things.

Joe shook his head and turned Cochise around. "You've been forgetting things quite a bit lately. You sure are distracted. Maybe it has something to do with that Paige?"

Hoss grumbled but didn't try to argue with Joe, because when the boy got started with that high-pitched giggle, no words would make him stop teasing. Unless, of course, Pa was the one speaking those words.

Hoss turned Chubb around and they headed back for the house.

After a moment, Hoss paused, face crinkled up in confusion. "Hey, Joe, do you hear…?"

A couple of sharp, loud sounds resounded, causing both men to jump.

"Gunshots!" cried Joe, kicking Cochise to make him go faster. They sped off towards the ranch.

**Break**

They'd waited until most of the family had left the house.

"We want to get that money with the least amount of fuss," Jacob said to the man behind him, patting his horse's neck absentmindedly.

"I don't think the dark-haired Cartwright is ever leaving," complained the cattle rustler, and Jacob was inclined to agree. Perhaps the house was never completely empty, and wishing it would just be Paige was too much to ask for. Three Cartwrights had left, and the third had gone into the barn; perhaps that was enough.

"Okay," Jacob agreed. "Let's go. Remember, get in as fast as we can, blow up the safe or get the combination, get out. If anyone gets in the way…"

"Shoot," finished the man next to him, grinning a crooked smile and running fingers through dirty blonde hair.

Jacob nodded.

**Break**

Adam didn't know who shot first. One second he and Riley were out in the yard, wanting to see what was going on. Then a group of men in raggedy clothes were riding into the dusty yard, and suddenly Adam knew that they were under attack. Nothing had to be said or done; Adam had been attacked enough times in his life to just know.

Someone might have said something along the lines of a greeting, but Adam didn't know. He just saw the men with guns in their hands and grabbed his own gun, preparing to leap back into the barn for cover.

Riley's face dropped into an expression of horror, and he yelled a name that Adam didn't know.

"Jacob!"

The shooting started. Adam saw Riley hit the ground at once, but didn't stop. He leapt behind the door of the barn and started returning fire. He hit someone in the arm, and the man immediately doubled over in pain.

_What's going on? What are they after? Why are they shooting? _

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door to the house open, and tried to project his thoughts onto Paige. _Stay in the house; stay in the house! _Almost as if she heard, the door shut again.

A bullet missed his head by a millimeter, and Adam ducked back again, aware of the sound of more horses running up into the yard behind the attackers, and more shooting. Adam risked a look, just in time to see Hoss fall backward out of his saddle and hit the ground.

The world stood still for a second.

Then Hoss rolled and was back on his feet, behind a tree, and shot down one of the strange men.

Most of the men were now facing the opposite way, away from the house, shooting at Joe and Hoss. Adam tried to step out of the barn, but a barrage of bullets forced him back. He took a deep breath, looked around to make sure no attackers had snuck into the barn the back way – they hadn't; the only things there were frightened horses – and went back to shooting. He saw another two fall, one by him and one by Joe, but didn't know if they lived.

The door to the house swung open again, and this time Paige came running out, holding a rifle and yelling. Adam cursed inwardly and called out to her, but she didn't seem to here him.

"Jake Anton!" she hollered, vaguely reminding Adam of an irritated mother. Catching sight of Riley lying there, and then looking up to see Hoss's riderless horse, she froze, her face paling.

And then it turned red, and Adam had the sudden feeling that the bloodshed had just begun.


	12. The Fight Part Two

Chapter Twelve

Hoss peeked out from behind his tree, hearing bullets rain down from around him. Where was everyone? Joe was climbing down from his horse, trying to avoid being shot. Adam could occasionally be seen looking out or shooting from the barn. Paige was… Paige?

_Dern_, what was she doing out of the house?

She had a rifle in her hand, Hoss noted with a groan, and her face was red and furious. "Jacob!" he thought he heard her scream at the man on the horse in front of her. The man reached over, as though to grab her, and Paige swiped at him with her rifle, nearly knocking him off the horse.

"Paige!" Hoss hollered, trying to take aim at the man in front of her. The rest of the attackers – whose numbers were dwindling – were in the way, and Hoss couldn't possibly hit him. "Dadburn it," he muttered to himself, still shooting but keeping his eye on Paige. He needed to help her!

Adam was shooting at the attackers, about half of which were now on the ground, watching the barn behind him and checking for unseen attackers in the bushes. He heard Hoss cry Paige's name, and looked up to see a man on a horse practically looming over her. She held a gun, but didn't look like she was going to use it, but Adam had already seen that man shoot. Quickly, Adam changed direction and took aim at the man.

Paige was glaring up and Jacob. "Get out of here!" she snapped, but he just reached for her again—probably to pull her out of the way of the shooting. Paige ducked away and barked another ignored order at her murdering, no good brother.

Something out of the corner of her eye distracted her, and she looked towards Adam. Her heart dropped. "Jake!" she cried again, putting a hand out as though that could push a horse away. "No, Adam, don't—!"

A gunshot.

Jacob jerked, his body going rigid, and then he slipped out of his saddle and hit the ground. Paige's hands found their way to her mouth, the gun falling uselessly to the ground. A strangled scream made its way past them, and she fell to her knees.

Adam didn't have time to worry about that, because a bullet went past his head so fast that he felt the wind. He ducked back, shooting another man down, but then he realized that the rest of the men – there weren't many, as they'd only had about a dozen to begin with – were turning and spurring their horses on, running away.

Adam allowed himself one sigh of relief, leaning against the wall of the barn, and then he straightened and walked out into the yard to deal with the aftermath.

Men littered the ground; Cochise and Chubb were nervously tossing their heads and tapping their hooves against the ground. Joe rolled out from behind a bunch of bushes and went to calm down his horse. Hoss put his gun back into his holster and rushed over to Paige, leaving his horse to Joe.

"Paige?" he said, and she looked up at him with large eyes. "Are ya hurt?"

She looked at him a second longer, her hands still over her mouth, but then she seemed to shake herself and leaned down, grabbing the strange man's wrist and checking for a pulse.

"Jake," she mumbled. "C'mon, Jake." After a second, she let out a trembling breath and seemed to shrink into herself.

"Paige?" Hoss's hands were out, like he wanted to pat her on the shoulder, but wasn't quite sure if he could.

She gave a small gasp, stood up silently, and walked over to Riley, kneeling beside him and checking his pulse too.

A strange quietness seemed to fall over everyone, somehow louder than the sound of shooting.

Paige stood up, her face still, and met Hoss's eyes. "Dead."

"Riley…?"

"Both of them. Riley and Jake; they're dead."

Hoss glanced over at the dead man she'd called Jake, and saw the wound in his stomach. The man's face looked familiar, Hoss noted suddenly, feeling nervous.

"That," said Paige, her voice quiet and shaking, pointing to Jake, "is Jacob Anton, the cattle rustler. And my brother."

Hoss started forward and wrapped his arm around Paige's shoulder, holding her up in case she collapsed. She looked like she was going to.

"Adam?" said Hoss, looking at his brother, who stood by with a grave face. "I'm takin' Paige inside, you take care of the horses and everythin', okay?"

Adam nodded, watching Paige and Hoss slowly make their way into the house, though inside his head he was already planning to send Joe for the Sherriff while he checked if anyone was still alive and then gathered up the horses. And then he thought he would worry about what they would do with Paige.

Giving his brother and their guest one last glance, Adam saw Paige bury her face in Hoss's shoulder, her loose hair falling over his back. Hoss held her tighter with his supportive arm.

And then Adam turned to face the battlefield, hearing the sound of horse's hooves riding up.

Ben rode into the yard and saw everything, his eye roving over the horses and dead men and Adam standing alone in the middle of it all while Joe petted Cochise. His jaw slackened.


	13. The End

Chapter Thirteen

For a while, no one said anything about what happened in front of the house. Paige might have cried, but she didn't do it in front of any of the Cartwrights. Not even Hoss, who she'd taken to hanging around quite closely. She glared when he left her to go do chores, but she didn't say anything. She hadn't said much since Riley and Jacob died.

This strange silence and lack of belligerence lasted several days.

Then Pa suggested that he pay for Jacob's funeral. He thought he was being kind. After all, Paige hadn't the money to pay for a funeral, and she couldn't use the money from the stolen goods, because as much of that as possible was being returned. As for Riley, he had money saved up for which could be used for his own funeral, as Paige told them that he had no family.

However, she didn't take Pa's generous offer so well.

"No!" Paige snapped, her eyes flashing. "No, you can't!"

And no matter what Pa said, even when he asked_ why_ she wouldn't let him, Paige would not say anything more on the subject. She wouldn't budge. Hoss had told her to pick and choose her fights—well, she'd picked one.

Hoss smiled when he saw the anger on her face. He'd rather missed it.

Pa, now treading carefully, managed to suggest to Paige that instead, they use the reward money placed on Jacob's head to pay for the funeral. He expected Paige to be angry, but the option _was_ there, and Ben Cartwright was not a man used to walking on eggshells, so he did it rather poorly.

But to everyone's surprise, Paige liked the idea. She agreed easily enough, saying that she'd rather that than borrowing or letting someone collect on her brother's death, an idea which incensed her.

With that settled, Hoss began to worry about after the funeral.

Adam found Hoss sitting back behind the barn that same afternoon, staring into space.

"Hoss?"

"Adam. Hi… I was just… thinkin'."

Adam smiled a little and walked until he was next to his brother, then sank into a sitting position. "About Paige?"

"Yeah. Adam, do ya think she'll leave?"

"What do you mean?" asked Adam, raising an eyebrow.

"They usually leave."

"Who?"

"Everyone. You know… like the woman Pa wanted to marry, Katherine. Or that actress Joe was in love with. All of 'em seem to leave after something like this. How can Paige forget we killed her brother?"

"It hasn't seemed to bother her so far."

Hoss shrugged and picked at the grass. "I don't want her to go. I want her to stay—We can always find work in town for her, or sumthin'."

Adam smiled and stood up, patting his brother affectionately on his shoulder. "Tell her that. She might surprise you."

Hoss watched him go quietly, and then went into the barn to see Chubb. His horse probably didn't have any better advice, but just in case…

Paige was in the barn, absentmindedly petting Thunder.

Hoss froze in the door.

"Hey, Hoss," she said without turning around. "I was just thinking about Thunder here. What do you think we can do with him?"

Hoss came forward and rubbed his hand across the horse's neck. "We could sell him to the stables in town."

She shook her head. "No. Riley loved this horse. I'll be dadgumed if I'll let anyone take him. I think… I think, yes, I'll keep him." She nodded to herself, now, still running her hand down the horse's neck. "He likes me."

Hoss smiled, thinking that for some reason her solution felt right. "I think Riley would approve."

"He would." She sighed. "You know, Hoss, if a woman could choose her brother, I would have chosen Riley. Even before he left the group and got himself arrested, I don't think how I felt about him was all that romantic. Riley was a great guy." Paige's eyes were suspiciously wet, but she went on. "As for Jacob…"

Hoss was quiet, knowing that she would go on if she wanted to.

"Well, he wasn't a great guy, but he was my brother, and I loved him. He made me laugh. He was the only person I knew who didn't make me mad, probably because I knew him so well. But he would just explode whenever I opened my mouth." She chuckled suddenly, looking brighter. "I used to make him mad just because I could."

Hoss smiled. "Sounds like my brothers, sometimes."

She smiled, and Hoss, given courage from that expression, suddenly was able to say, "Paige, after the funeral…"

"Oh, Hoss, I don't want to talk about it."

His heart plummeted.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to go anywhere, but of course I can't keep trespassing on the hospitality on a bunch of bachelor's. I don't know where else I could go, though." She spoke sadly, turning to face Hoss, who was feeling considerably happier after those words— _'I don't want to go.'_

"We could…" He cleared his throat. "We could find you some work in town, find you a boarding place, if you'd like."

Her face lit up. "Really?" But then she paused. "I won't be a saloon girl, Hoss."

Hoss laughed, unable to believe his luck—she didn't want to leave! "Alright, then. Is it a deal?" He held out a hand for shaking.

She actually laughed. It was quiet, a little solemn sounding, but it was a laugh nonetheless. She shook his hand, and then, with a grin on her face, she leaned forward and kissed him, right on the lips.

Then, still smiling softly to herself, she left the barn before Hoss's head could stop spinning.

**End. **

**A/N: Whew! Okay, I started this story like… what? 60 stories ago? It took me way to long to finish, but I got sidetracked by a different fandom— BBC **_**Merlin**_**. Which is where I can mostly be found now. However I still hope to write more **_**Bonanza **_**stories… But perhaps no more multi-chapters for a while. And I might try to avoid OCs, since I've learned since I started this story that many people don't care for them. Alright, well, that's the end of my drivel, finally. Thanks for reading it all and please review!**


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